A: Seize the [Phoenix Gloves] and become the master of the portrait.
B: Abandon the [Phoenix Gloves] and forgo this opportunity.
Time seemed to stand still; the faces of Mo Yuan, Granny Wu, and the others around him were frozen in place.
No matter what roles they played in the apocalypse, within Desire Tower, they were merely NPCs. Wen Xishu was the real player. Thus, only Wen Xishu could move at this moment.
A player can also take everything from NPCs.
At this juncture, Wen Xishu seemed to stand at some crossroads, forced to make a choice.
"Phoenix Gloves? So that’s what this is called, Phoenix? Why Phoenix?"
Wen Xishu suddenly thought of that ※ symbol.
His associative ability was strong. Why were these gloves called Phoenix Gloves? And why did Ding Dong, though evidently worried about these people... choose to die outside?
With the appearance of the word Phoenix, he suddenly had a clue. He remembered the constellations. Besides the well-known twelve zodiac signs, there was another constellation called Phoenix.
This thought immediately excited Wen Xishu. The central part of the Phoenix constellation’s astronomical pattern, viewed from a distance, formed a giant X.
If you include the surrounding star clusters, with dots denoting dense clusters... wouldn’t that just be the ※ pattern?
And the fate of the Phoenix is to be reborn from the ashes.
However, speculating based solely on the name of a pair of gloves seemed somewhat far-fetched.
The glow finally began to fade, and the surroundings were no longer frozen as Wen Xishu released his grip on the scroll and took off the gloves.
The people around looked at each other in confusion, and finally, Lei Yihong asked:
"Plane... what just happened? How do we use this thing? Did you find a way?"
Wen Xishu nodded:
"I am different from the five of you. My connection with Ding Dong is not that deep. I cannot use this item."
The Scorpio knife also stopped trembling, lying still as if it had never moved.
Wen Xishu handed the gloves to Mo Yuan:
"Mo Yuan, it’s up to you. You just need to touch Ding Dong’s portrait with the gloves. Ding Dong will give you the answers."
Mo Yuan, half-understanding, put on the gloves. Once again, the person wearing the gloves began to touch Ding Dong’s portrait.
But this time, a golden light burst forth instantly, and Mo Yuan did not feel any rejection from the gloves.
Amidst the intense golden light, a figure seemed to walk out from the endless void.
"Ding... Ding Dong! It’s really him!" Xiangyang exclaimed in surprise.
Lele clapped her hands, saying:
"Ding Dong brother! Ding Dong brother!!"
His pipe grew longer, indicating that this statement had not revealed the truth or reality. However, no one cared about that. Joy appeared on everyone’s faces.
Including Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu knew that this person was not Ding Dong, but he should possess everything Ding Dong did, and perhaps more.
This was an upgraded version of Ding Dong, one born from the choices of a perplexed soul.
The golden light gradually faded, and Ding Dong, from the portrait, finally appeared before everyone. "Ding Dong" looked at them and softly said:
"We meet again, Ah Yuan, Granny, Lele, Brother Xiang, Brother Yihong. I’m sorry for leaving in such a hurry that day, but I knew you would find me."
In everyone’s eyes, Ding Dong was full of flesh and blood, just like the Ding Dong in their memories.
In fact, this Ding Dong felt more vivid, more emotional than the one in their impressions.
"This... this, it’s good to have you back! It’s good to have you back!" Granny Wu had tears in her eyes.
Mo Yuan immediately hugged Ding Dong. Xiangyang smiled, Lei Yihong visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and Lele kept clapping.
Wen Xishu said:
"Everyone’s happy that you’re back, but I think you owe us an explanation of what’s really going on here, right?"
Ultimately, Wen Xishu did not choose to seize the gloves. He wasn’t unaffected, but he felt this option posed great risks. If killing the key target equated to mission failure in itself...
Wen Xishu didn’t dare to verify this. What would happen if he killed the mission target? Had anyone done this before in history?
At the same time, deep down he felt these people deserved to live. Their lives had already been quite a failure due to their persistence over certain things, but perhaps they could survive in this impending shattered world.
Though he didn’t admit that this thought had influenced his decision-making.
Ding Dong looked at Wen Xishu with a surprised expression, then smiled:
"You’re Plane? That’s great. Seems like I’m pretty lucky. Congratulations on regaining your consciousness. I want to tell everyone about my story."
Wen Xishu nodded. He had a feeling Ding Dong had seen through that he wasn’t really Plane.
Just moments ago, Ding Dong’s changing expressions had made Wen Xishu feel a bit odd. But there was no hostility in Ding Dong.
That line about seeming lucky had other deeper meanings, he thought.
Ding Dong’s first words caught everyone off guard:
"I’m actually something of an escapee."